He still approaches his job the same way he did when he started in 1967.

"We're here to serve and to listen," he said. "We're all good listeners. You may not have the perfect answer, but you may give them something that will ease their question."

Although the village's population has remained relatively flat, hovering around 3,000, Bollatto has seen some wholesale changes, such as the disbanding of the police force in 1990 and an overhauled master plan steering Sloatsburg into the future. A real estate developer has grand plans to turn the village center into a tourist destination.

Thomas Bollatto, the Village of Sloatsburg clerk and treasurer, far right, in a photo taken in 1979.(Photo: Handout, Handout)

Does the job ever get boring after all these years?

"Every day is a different day, no one day is the same," he replied. "You may come in because you have a squirrel in your chimney, but tomorrow (a resident) may come in because she's got water coming in through the basement floor."

"My biggest concern is, does Mike have enough salt?" he added with a laugh, referring to Highway Superintendent Michael DeMartino.

Retirement is not on the horizon for Bollatto. His term runs through December 2020.

Here's 10 things to know about Thomas Bollatto Jr.:

1. Personal file

73 years old

Lifelong Sloatsburg resident

Graduated Sacred Heart school and Suffern High School in 1962

Father, Thomas Sr., was mayor from 1958-59 and was the village fire department's longest serving member

Married to his wife, Pamela, for 42 years. The couple has two children and two grandchildren

2. Career path

Received a degree in design from the Traphagen School of Design in New York City

Hired as a teller and later processed mortgages and commercial loans at Lafayette Bank and Trust in Suffern

Hired Dec. 11, 1967, as Sloatsburg village clerk and treasurer

3. Role model

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Virginia Menschner, Suffern village clerk since 1963, seen in 2005 file photo.(Photo: The Journal News)

Bollatto said he was the youngest clerk in Rockland when he was hired, but after 50 years he's not the county's oldest or longest-serving.

His mentor, Suffern Village Clerk Virginia Menschner, is still on the job after 59 years.

4. By the numbers

Village budget for 1968-69: $213,719

Village budget for 2018: $2,924,446

Bollatto's starting salary in 1967: $7,200

His salary in the 2018 budget: $113,782

5. Hizzoners

Bollatto has served under five mayors:

John Babcock

Bob Frost

Thomas Smith

Sam Abate

Carl Wright

6. School days

Bollatto was a trustee on the Ramapo Central school district Board of Education from 1988 to 2015, including six years as its president.

7. His staff delivers

"About 20 years ago, a car pulled off into our driveway and my staff delivered a baby," he recalled. "Up until this past year, that 21-year-old young fellow comes to Breakfast with Santa every year."

This was one of the rare birth certificates Bollatto has issued — most are recorded in Suffern, where Good Samaritan Hospital is located.

8. They stick around

Bollatto's deputy clerk, Marianne Dolan, has worked alongside him for some 35 years; clerk stenographer Regina Boorom has been there 31 years. Other longtimers include account clerk/typist Mary Hahn (18 years) and clerk typist Diane Sarka (14 years).

9. Night to remember

A village Board of Trustees meeting in November 1975 had to be abruptly adjourned because there was a man threatening to blow up Davis Sport Shop if he didn't get a plane to Cuba. It turned out he was armed only with flares.